In this invention relates to an auger for moving material, and more particularly to an auger having spiraled flighting which moves material in opposite directions.
In handling materials which are somewhat dense and sticky, such as meat or meat trimmings or the like, unique problems are encountered in discharging such materials from a hopper into a discharge opening in the bottom of the hopper. It is known to use a generally V-shaped hopper having a trough at its bottom, with a conveyor disposed in the trough for moving the materials toward a discharge opening provided adjacent one end of the trough. The discharge opening leads to an unloading mechanism, such as a screw conveyor disposed below the trough, to convey the materials to a downstream station for processing. In such a structure, the auger in the trough of the hopper moves the material from one end of the trough to another, at which time the materials flow by gravity into the discharge opening. However, with some sticky and dense materials, the materials can form a "bridge" over the auger. In this event, the auger rotates beneath the "bridge" without delivering any material to the discharge opening.
Another shortcoming of the described system is the excessive "piling up" of materials at the end of the trough adjacent the discharge opening. With some materials, such "piling up" of materials can lead to spillage of some material over the top of the hopper.
An attempt to solve the above-described problems has involved providing intermittent reversal of the discharge auger. This action dislodges the bridged material and causes it to enter the discharge opening, and also reduces the potential for materials to spill over the side of the hopper adjacent the discharge opening. However, such intermittent reversal requires the presence of an operator to monitor the unloading of the hopper, and also slows the unloading process.
Further, in the above-described system, substantial amounts of stress occur in the side walls of the hopper due to the materials being forced against the side of the hopper by the auger. Consequently, it is necessary to reinforce the hopper sides to adequately withstand such stress.
The present invention is designed to address the above-mentioned problems. In accordance with the invention, an auger is provided for discharging material such as meat or the like from a hopper. The hopper has a material holding cavity, including a trough, and a discharge opening in the bottom of the cavity adjacent the center of the trough. The discharge auger includes a rotatable shaft having a first end portion and a second end portion, each of which is provided with a spiraled flighting. In response to rotation of the shaft, the flighting moves the material within the hopper in opposite directions toward the discharge opening in the center of the trough. This movement of the materials creates a concentration of material adjacent the discharge opening. The auger is further provided with disruptor means disposed on the shaft adjacent the discharge opening for intermittently disrupting the concentration of material adjacent the discharge opening. The disruptor means also forces the material into the discharge opening for discharging the material from the cavity of the hopper. In one embodiment, the shaft is provided with a central portion etween the first and second end portions, having a reduced transverse dimension relative to the transverse dimension of the end portions. The central portion of the shaft is provided with a disruptor bar adjacent the discharger opening. The disruptor bar rotates in response to rotation of the shaft, and intermittently passes through the concentration of material adjacent the discharge opening, to dislodge any "jamming" of material and to force material into the discharge opening.